Hasta La Gadget!

Google and the European Commission have been doing their seemingly interminable antitrust dance for three years now, but today’s development might signal a shift in the tides. In July, the EU’s Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, had deemed Google’s previous concession offer unworthy and informed Eric Schmidt that the company had to “present better proposals.” According to The New York Times, Google has evidently heeded his words and ponied up a new offer that’s evidently enough to please the antitrust chief, although specific terms have yet to be disclosed.

At the heart of the problem is Google’s tendency to squeeze its rivals (including, but not limited to, Microsoft, Foundem and Hotmaps) out of search results, making it difficult for users to find them. The new offer allegedly addresses those concerns, and while it’s unlikely that a decision will be made earlier than next spring, the EU’s tentative approval of Google’s efforts could mean that case is inching its way to a settlement. Almunia has said that he intends to present the proposal to the complainants in the case, who seem less than enthused. David Wood, the legal counsel for the Microsoft-backed Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (ICOMP) told the Times, “It is far from clear from Commissioner Almunia’s description of the revised package of proposed commitments that they go nearly far enough.”

Filed under: Misc, Internet, Google

Comments

Source: The New York Times, Reuters

It’s no secret that European Commission regulators dislike roaming charges. However, The Guardian now hears from sources that the Commission may propose legislation next week that eliminates those charges altogether. Carriers would reportedly have to charge the same service rates in every European Union country, forming alliances in nations where they don’t operate. Networks that don’t scrap roaming fees by July 2014 would also have to give customers a choice of foreign providers. Subscribers wouldn’t even have to swap SIM cards or phone numbers, according to The Guardian. A spokesman for the Commission’s Neelie Kroes declined comment on the rumor, but noted that the agency wants roaming “out of the market” — clearly, the cellular status quo won’t last for long.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Comments

Source: The Guardian

A year and a half after Google introduced its new, “simpler” privacy policy, UK regulators have come to a verdict: Mountain View must now change that policy by September 20th or face the possibility of “formal enforcement action.” In a statement, the Information Commissioner’s Office said:

“We believe that the updated policy does not provide sufficient information to enable UK users of Google’s services to understand how their data will be used across all the company’s products.”

German and Italian governments have reached much the same conclusion, while France and Spain also wrote strongly-worded letters to Google last month. For its part, Google has the following response:

“Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the authorities involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward.”

As The Guardian points out however, Google’s statement doesn’t really explain how its privacy policy can “respect” EU law and yet be considered objectionable by five major EU governments.

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Source: The Inquirer (1), The Guardian

Not surprisingly, the European Parliament isn’t happy to hear that the NSA and other US agencies are allegedly snooping on communications in Europe and elsewhere. It isn’t just complaining loudly, however — the Parliament just voted 483-98 in favor of a resolution that will investigate US surveillance activities in Europe and report on their impact before the end of the year. The measure also asks EU officials to consider limiting the data they voluntarily provide to American authorities, such as shutting down programs that forward air passenger and bank records. There’s nothing in the resolution that would immediately affect the EU-to-US communication pipeline, but that could change in half a year — US intelligence outlets may not get their European information served on a silver platter for much longer.

[Image credit: JLogan, Wikipedia]

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Via: ZDNet

Source: European Parliament

Google has no doubt been on pins and needles wondering whether or not the European Commission will accept the search engine changes it’s proposing to avoid an antitrust showdown. If what we’re hearing is right, Larry Page and crew might just get to relax in the near future: sources for the New York Times claim that the EU agency has accepted Google’s proposal. Reportedly, the terms of the deal are close to what had been mentioned last week. Google would have to explicitly label search results that come from its own services while sometimes showing those results from others. It would also have to test the results in the field to get feedback from both the Commission and competitors. While neither Google nor European officials have confirmed the apparent leak so far, any truth to the story could mean the long-running saga might draw to a close before it gets ugly.

Filed under: Internet, Google

Comments

Source: New York Times